PCSpectra wrote:This is all while working at sitepoint?
Yes. I have to admit, my last job was not quite the same. I wasn't able to develop using the methodologies I prefer, and I was not able to spend time (without getting earache) doing obvious things like refactoring.
PCSpectra wrote:This is probably a benefit of working on a hosted software system, or do they offer bespoke development?
The company is split into three main division... Books & Publishing: Our articles and books; The Doghouse: sitepoint.com itself, SitePoint Marketplace and a few other smaller in-house projects; SitePoint Solutions: our client-facing division.
So yes, we do provide services to clients, and we still work in the same way. It's a selling point for many clients really! Fortunately we're *usually* working with large companies rather than smaller companies on lower budgets, though we have some small clients.
However, I work only for the doghouse (mostly the SitePoint Marketplace, and also aspects of sitepoint.com, such as the eCommerce system).
PCSpectra wrote:I have had the "pleasure" of working in both software factories and hosted environments, and the latter is far less troublesome.
When you have thousands or millions of people using your products on their own servers, bugs are IMHO far more likely, as you will surely miss a configuration hack for Linux or Windows, or even Redhat or Debian.
We have some clients who choose the maintain their own servers, but the majority prefer that we handle that. We run on clouds and have expertise in managing such a setup with little ongoing maintenance requirements.
Always worth keeping an eye out on the jobs page

We do take international employees and offer sponsorship when needed.
http://www.sitepoint.com/about/jobs/
EDIT | The 99designs job on the jobs page is for 99designs.com which started out as a project run by SitePoint. I worked on that team for my first 4 months at SitePoint, before they spun it off into a sister company. The manager is the same, the owner is the same, the office is shared, and the ethics are the same.